Title: Everything I Need, Chapter 3
Sara and Sophia stood waiting in the hallway outside of Greg's hospital room. "Sara, he'll be fine," Sophia said. "The doctor removed the bullet, he's no longer in immediate danger. His body just needs to rest now. Why don't you go in and be with him?"
"Thanks, Sophia," Sara said.
"I'm going to take this back to CSI. I'll talk to you later. Take care, okay?" Sophia said as she left Sara alone.
Sara remained in the hallway for a few minutes. Her mind took her back over the events that led Greg to be here in his current state. His civil suit took place earlier that morning, brought against him by the family of Demetrius James. Sara, Sophia, Nick and Warrick were all there for support, and for protection in case the brother, Aaron James, should threaten Greg. For Greg's sake Sara wished Grissom could be there too, but he was teaching a seminar in New England. The verdict went in Greg's favor, and Greg and his friends left together to celebrate. They passed through a flurry of reporters, and Greg offered a courteous "no comment" to the media circus gathering around him. Suddenly shots rang out, and Greg clutched his right shoulder and went down. Sophia spotted Aaron James aiming a pistol in their direction. She, Warrick, and Nick pursued him while Sara stayed with Greg, imploring him to hang on.
"Sara," Greg whispered as she held him in her arms."
"I'm here Greg. I'm here. Don't worry, you're going to be fine," Sara said softly, stroking his hair. She radioed for an ambulance, and Greg was whisked away to the hospital. Sophia, Nick, and Warrick cornered Aaron James and brought him into custody.
Greg was taken immediately into surgery to have the bullet removed and to stop the bleeding. Sophia waited with Sara, lending her support. She was struck by the similarity of this moment to another moment in their recent past–the morning after Greg was beaten and nearly killed by Aaron's brother Demetrius and his friends. Sophia had assured Sara that morning that Greg was stabilized and that he would be fine. Now she was here doing the same.
"Greg's a pretty special guy, isn't he?" Sophia asked.
"How do you mean?" Sara asked, not wanting to divulge too much of what she was feeling.
"Everyone in the lab seems to be fond of him–even Hodges in his own particular way. He's still managed to hold on to his sense of humor I hope?" Sophia inquired.
"For the most part, though I haven't seen him wearing any tacky shirts or crazy hats lately," Sara smiled. "He's been through a lot, and it's taken it's toll–especially this whole situation."
"Well, aside from Aaron James receiving the justice he deserves it's pretty much over. Perhaps now Greg can sleep easy now," Sophia said.
"Perhaps," Sara agreed.
"Sara, he'll be fine," Sophia said. "The doctor removed the bullet, he's no longer in immediate danger. His body just needs to rest now. Why don't you go in and be with him?"
Sara walked into Greg's room, pulled up a chair beside his bed, and took his hand. Various machines began to beep and buzz as Greg awakened, startling Sara at first. But then Greg turned his head and looked at her with his warm brown eyes. Sara ran her fingers through his hair.
"Hi there," she whispered. "You're going to be fine. The doctors removed the bullet and patched you up. Aaron James is in custody. It's all over."
Greg reached up and tried to pull out his chest tube. Sara took his hand.
"No, no sweetie. You don't want to do that. That's helping you breathe right now. I know it's uncomfortable. Let me page the nurse, so we can let her know you're awake, and we can see about getting that out okay?" Sara said. Greg nodded as best he could, and Sara pressed the call button for the nurse. The nurse came and checked Greg's vitals, then called for the doctor to remove the chest tube. Once the doctor and nurse had left the room, Sara drew near to Greg's bedside and took his hand. She offered him some water to ease the dryness in his throat.
"It's really over?" Greg whispered in a raspy voice.
"Yes, it's over," Sara said softly. Greg brought her hand to his lips and kissed it.
"I'm so glad you're here," Greg said, his warm brown eyes brimming with tears. Sara stroked his face. Greg opened his arms and Sara snuggled beside him in his hospital bed.
"Everything's going to be okay now," Sara whispered.
"I know it is, because you're here with me," Greg whispered, kissing Sara's forehead. They held each other silently until they both drifted off to sleep in each others' arms.